Ronak Gandhi file photo
NOA on Crown St. According to downtown's top cop, "This establishment poses an immediate danger to its customers, the commercial businesses that it adjoins, pedestrians, and vehicular traffic."
Thomas Breen photo
Liquor permit suspension sign now up at NOA.
The state has suspended a Crown Street Thai restaurant’s liquor permit after an early Saturday morning shooting — following a stabbing last year and numerous complaints over the past two years — led investigators to believe that the business is being run “in a manner that imperils public safety.”
The state Department of Consumer Protection handed down that suspension Tuesday for the restaurant NOA, also known as NOA by September in Bangkok, at 200 Crown St.
In a two-page suspension order, state DCP Commissioner and Liquor Control Commission Chair Bryan Cafferelli wrote that the restaurant’s liquor permit has been “suspended immediately pending proceedings for revocation or other action.”
NOA’s owner could not be reached for comment by the publication time of this article.
The immediate catalyst for the liquor license suspension was a shooting that took place at the restaurant at around 1 a.m. Saturday.
In a Saturday letter written to state Director of Liquor Control Caitlin Anderson, downtown top cop Lt. Brendan Borer wrote that city police responded to NOA at that time “for a fight that resulted in gun shots being fired.”
Officers found two 9mm shell casings near the bar counter. “Our initial police reports indicate that witnesses observed a fight break out inside the bar area and suddenly shots were fired,” Borer wrote. “When the shots were fired, two female patrons reported to police that they sustained graze wounds.” One victim was transported to the hospital for treatment; the other declined further treatment.
Video footage from the restaurant, Borer wrote, showed two male customers pull out guns from their front waistbands and place rounds in the chambers. “These individuals then re-enter the crowd. A quick moment later, shots were fired. On video, you can see the numerous patrons immediately evacuate the bar.” Cafferelli’s suspension order states that police subsequently arrested three people in relation to the shooting.
This isn’t the first violent incident to take place at NOA, Borer continued. He said there was a stabbing at the restaurant in November 2023. In response to that stabbing, Borer and Liquor Agent Michael Kula visited the restaurant to discuss improving security. “One request was to conduct pat downs of patrons to prevent weapons from entering the business.”
Borer concluded by requesting a “summary suspension” of NOA’s liquor permit. He also asked for “proof of improved security measures” before the restaurant can reopen. “This business has been educated on improved security measures previously. This recent shooting incident could have resulted in loss of life or serious injuries. We are extremely fortunate that we did not have that outcome.”
Cafferelli’s suspension order, meanwhile, references a list of 10 other police reports about dangerous and potentially illegal activities at NOA.
Those include:
• Referrals from Yale University police about intoxicated students allegedly at NOA on two days in January and May;
• A complaint that a patron was assaulted at NOA, resulting in the arrest of a bartender in January;
• Two separate fights at NOA in May, including “the arrest of a subject in possession of a tire iron during one of the incidents.”
But wait. There’s more.
Cafferelli wrote that DCP has been involved with the restaurant three times over the past two years that it’s had a liquor license, due to the following incidents:
• The November 2023 stabbing that saw police find blood on the floor near the dance floor and bar counter.
• A December 2023 complaint from Yale police about “parties occurring at NOA and bartenders pouring shots directly into the mouths of patrons and not carding patrons.”
• A January 2024 unannounced inspection at around 11 p.m. that saw DCP find a 20-year-old minor standing at the bar, but not holding an alcoholic beverage, having entered the restaurant with a fake ID.
“As these incidents show, DCP and New Haven Police have engaged with NOA numerous times to educate and improve safety and operational measures,” Cafferelli concluded. “As the recent incident demonstrates, these attempts have made little impact in the continued operation of the premises.”